The test of Percy Jackson
by SeriousZebra
Summary: Percy Jackson has never met a challenge he could not overcome. Titans, gods, demigods and monsters have all been defeated before him. So why then, does Zeus need Percy to complete one final test of his abilities- even when he saved his godly ass? What test could be so significant? My first story! Simply reading and reviewing this would be greatly appreciated. Rated T just in case.


**Authors note: this takes place barely a month after The Last Olympian. Yes, Percy still loves Annabeth, and she will come into this eventually. As well as perhaps some other characters, if people ask for it! This is also my first ever story, so simply thanks for reading it. **

Percy was used to nightmares- they were just something that came with the job of being the son of a Poseidon. Still, he felt uneasy as he wandered the empty desert Morpheus had brought him to.

Normally something would have tried to kill him by now. You know- a monster or the entire dream itself. But now… Now it was peaceful, with the warm sand in between his toes and the light of the sun on his back. It was too peaceful, in fact.

Finishing a struggle to the top of a dune, he paused for a moment to have a look around. No matter where he looked, all he could see was sand, sand and more sand. Above Percy, the sky was a cloudless deep blue. The sun (not as hot as you'd think for a desert- even a dream one) hung high in the air- just chilling. Percy wondered in his head if Apollo was actually there, even in his dream. On that note, did he even really know that he was in a dream? Is this the real life? Or is this fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from- NO! Not the time and place! Percy thought, realising that singing Queen to himself was probably a sign he was slowly going mad out here, in the middle of… Nowhere really.

"So…" Percy said to no one in particular. "Where am I?"

"In the Dream-world, stupid!" a voice exclaimed right behind Percy. Spinning around, Percy found himself face to face with thin air. Percy made a grab for Riptide in his pocket, but he didn't have pockets, he now realised. He had shorts on like those your school makes you wear for sports classes, and it had zero pockets to put a pen. He had an orange singlet on that reminded him of the clothing half-blood camp gave him, and a pair of sneakers. Turning around again, he saw a man lying in a hammock on a dune in front of him. The dune hadn't been there before, but weirder things have happened in dreams. The hammock was suspended on nothing- just hanging out there without a care in the world.

Again, Percy took note of the fact that he was overdue for a giant monster of some sort to try to kill him for the crime of existing. He wished he had Riptide with him, even if it really meant nothing out here.

Once he had climbed the dune, he approached the man in the floating hammock. He saw he was wearing a Hawaiian flower-decorated shirt, beige shorts, sandals and held a cocktail with a little umbrella in it. His face was hidden below a large hat. Percy wondered, was it holiday season here or something?

"Ah, no. Although, technically that doesn't matter to me." The mysterious man said underneath his hat. "I can have a holiday whenever I want. Sucks for you, great for me!" With a wave of his hand his glass refilled itself with the cocktail drink.

Ok, so he was a god, Percy thought to himself, aware that his thoughts could be read. And it wasn't just all the magic that was going on that made him realise this- arrogance that only a deity could carry just radiated off the hammock guy. And Percy knew exactly which god was being so aloof in front of him.

"What am I doing here, Dionysus?" Percy asked, getting straight to the point.

"You're here for a test, boy. And not a normal one at that!" Placing his cocktail in the sand, he got out of his hammock and took off his hat. "Still, it's a simple one. Kill a few things, make a few decisions, and avoid death. Nothing you haven't done before!"

"So what's the abnormal part?" Percy asked. Even if he had not said it would be a different test to the usual, it wouldn't have made a difference. There had to be a catch of some sort.

"Oh… you'll see. It's not easy to miss." A glimmer of a smile touched his lips. "Oh, and I'm not Dionysus- I'm Morpheus."

Even more so now, Percy wished he had Riptide with him. Morpheus had been on the side of the Titans during the war the month earlier, and Percy didn't trust the god one bit- even if he had declared allegiance to the gods as soon as he realised Kronos was dead.

"If I wanted to attack or trap you in this dream, boy, I'd have done so already. Besides, Zeus wants this test done not just for you, but for me- making sure that I'm really on his side." His body seemed to shimmer and fade, until his entire figure changed. He now wore a black robe that seemed to melt off his suddenly extremely tall and lean body and into the sand. His face was thin and more pale than paper. His hair was as black as void, and stood out from his head in a mess.

Percy considered turning the melted ice from the cocktail into a something he could use as a weapon, but decided to trust the dream god.

"Ok then… so what now?"

"The test. We must go now to where I have assembled trials for you." His voice was calm and devoid of emotion- very different from the one he put on as Dionysus. He outstretched his hand- huge, thin and pale.

For a second, Percy hesitated. But to fight a god in his own domain could be a really bad idea, and Percy had felt the consequences of those before. And they hurt a lot!

And in any case, Percy thought as he took Morpheus' hand, how bad could a little test be?

**This was more of one for me to get into the characters and setting- the test comes next chapter. And I've got a few surprises in store for you- yes, YOU- reader!**

**Please review and say what you thought of it- it'd be nice to turn this into a nice series!**

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